Plowshare blank



' April 28, 1953 N. c. RENDLEMAN 2,636,256

PLOWSHARE BLANK Original Filed Oct. 17, 1945 2 SHEETS-SHEET l figl.

F1g.2. J2 14 April 28, 1953 N. c. RENDLEMAN PLOWSHARE BLANK 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Original Filed Oct. 17, 1945 Z4 INVENTOR Norman @Rend/erwan Patented Apr. 28, 1953 T'LOWSHARE BLANK Norman C. Rendleman, Pittsburgh, Pa., assigner to Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Pittsbmgh, Pa., a .corporation of Pennsylvania Uriginal application @October 17, 1945, Serial No. 5.223377. .iii-vided land this application April 18, 1950., 'Serial No. 1563622 (Cl. 25J-193) 5 Claims.

This invention relates to a `blank .adapted to be .forged into a plowshare Aand this -applioation isa .division of my copending and .subsequently abandoned application Serial No. 622,775.7., filed October 1.7, 1945.

For Va period .of .many .decades .up until Icul-ite recently, the accepted method .of :making plowshares, .despite .several .serions .objections thereto, has ,been to Weld a forging forming .the landside to .a piece .of plate .iorming the blade. The Yobjeotions to this .method ,are the diii'iculty .and the cost .of the welding operation, and the tendency of a share 4so made to fail at .the weld. More recently, .it has been proposed to make plowshares by .providing an integral forging including the landside .and a portion .of the nblade adjaoent thereto, .and the .butt welding to the blade por tion of the ,forging a ,piece of substantially .flat plate adapted to constitute the remainder -of .the blade. This method .has proved .quite :desirable except jor .the .diculty in .providing the forging inrzluding as an integral piece .the Llandside and portion of the blade. vAttempts .have been .made to .produce this .part by rolling `a `bar .of special shape, cutting ,portions therefrom .and working them into a nished.shape,;speci11cally byiorgim,r the cut portion of .the bar. The .difonlty :experienced in this operation has .been that the forming' of the .blank leaves .coneavities in the blade .portion .resulting from the y,displacement .of the .metal by internal .stresses .set .up 'the .bending operation. This is '.highly objectionable I have invented a novel ,plowshare blank .and method .of :making it, whereby the aforementioned objections to .the previous. practice .are overcome Aand further .advantages obtained. a 'preferred practice of .my invention, l Tprovide arolled .barhavng la flanged web providing in.- tegral landside'and blade portions, respeotiizely, with a longitudinal Vrib at :the ,junction therebetween. 'The .web .or blade .portion of the bar ir, thioker `in Ithe region ,remote from .the rib than in the immediate neighborhood ofthe rib. l .cnt from the bar pieces of proper shape Lto .form .i`orging blanks and ,rollxthe .web portions individually to bring Athe landside into proper relation with the blade portion .and yto reduce .the blade por tion vin .the .region where .its ,thickness is greater, to sibstantially the thickness of .the remainder of the blade portion thereby .causing `a .progressing radial elongation in said region. The roll ing and elongationof the web portion .occur progressively as the -pieoe ris being bent to ,angular shape, thus .providing .the additional Vlength neaessary for the .web ,portion .in tits new position. Si

The internal stresses hitherto encountered forming aprolled piece intojaz-plowshare are thns prevented and the movement of metal in the dies is the minimum. The rolling operation, broderies a blank having integral landside and blade por* tions meeting in an edge of triangular. ,seeticirl The originally thicker part of the blade portion is reduced by the rolling to substantially the, same thickness as the remainder of the blade portion and is somewhat lengthened thereby. The triangular edge and landside portion .are bowed inwardly toward the bladepoi'ton 'as a result of this lengthening. I also preferably shape the rib to provide .a lip of .excess material on the landside which, when removed by ,Snde ing, leaves the iinished share with 'a sharp edge. A blank made according to .my invention may easily be forged into finished shape .after a pieee of plate .adapted to form .the remainder .of 1511' blade has .been butt Welded to the blade portion of the blank. blank 'conforms to the and the .share is formed Without internal stresses or undue movement lof metal.

For .a .complete understanding .of the 'inl/enf tion. reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating ie preferred practice and the .blank produced thereby, In the drawings.;

Figure 1 is a cross .section through a rolled bar .adapted to :be v out into .pieces vfor the .production lof gplowshare blanks; y .Y

Figure .2 is 1a ,plan .vienT of .the bar .showing .the man-ner xof x.Getting it to form a number .of start: ine pieces;

1Figur-.e .B is .avkplan .View of cutirom the rolled bar;

Figure 4 is an end view'thereof; A

Figure 5 .is .a plan view yof the blank after it has .been rolled;

`l'isme .isan lend view thereof; ,Figure A7 is a perspective view of the lcollegi blank: l l

eFigure l3 is .a oss .seeton therethrough substanti-ally along the .plane -,of line'VlIIv-.Vll .pf Figure T1;

:Figure :9 Iis ,a perspective `.view xol? .the .misiles plowshal; and

vFigur-.e .l0 isa cross sectiontherethrongh ,taken substantially lalong ythe iplane of line X-fX oi' Figure Referring @now v-in -detail fto the drawings, I gprovide a .rolled `bar lso .including .a .flange .or land.- side portion Il .and aweb or blade -gportion 14,2, preferably disposed y:es .substantially topi strips- An 'opstanding longitudinal is teeral .with the :bedside and blade ,abortions ...and

projects equidistantly above the upper surfaces thereof. A round-bottomed groove or channel I4 is formed in the surface of the bar opposite the rib I3. The landside and blade portions II and I2 are each bowed with undiminished thickness Where they merge into the rib i3, and their undersurfaces form smooth reverse curves with the groove I4. The rib I3 is of substantially trip angular section but has a lip I5 along the vertex on the side adjacent the landside portion I I, for a purpose which will subsequently appear. For economy of manufacture, the bar I0 is symmetrical about a central longitudinal plane I6, having a duplicate landside portion Il', blade portion I2' and rib I3' on the opposite side of the central plane.

The blade portions I2 and I2 of the bar Ill (see Figure 1) are not uniform in thickness but are thicker at the central longitudinal plane IS than in the neighborhood o f the ribs I3 and I3'. The differencerin thickness amounts tofabout 5%. In a particular case,A the thickness at the central plane is .336" while the thickness adjacent the ribs I3 .320. The bar In may easily be rolled from a'suitable billet by following well bar I 0 to form starting pieces I1 for making forging blanks. As clearly shown in the drawings, theV bar is cut along transverse parallel lines I8 and I9 extending through the ribs I3. The lines I8 and I9 are staggered and are connected by diagonal cuts on lines 20. Additional cuts on i.

diagonal lines 2| extend between the lines 2 6. The pieces I1 may conveniently be cut from the bar Ill in pairs by shearing along the lines I8, I9 and 20 and then severed along the line 2I. It will be apparent that this manner of cutting provides the maximum number of pieces H per unit length of bar, the only scrap loss involved being the piece 22 at each end of the bar. l

Figures 3 and 4 show one of the pieces I'I as cut from the bar I0. It will be noted that rthe piece includes a landside portion 23 of rectangular 'shape and a blade portion 24 of roughly tri-- angular shape between which the rib i3 extends. The .blade portion 24, as previously stated, increases in thicknesstoward the central longitudinal plane I6. 'The starting piece I1, after being cut from the bar I0, is subjected to hot-working to elongate the blade portion 24 adjacent the plane IB and reduce its thickness substantially to the thickness of the blade portion adjacent the rib." At the same time', the landside portion 23 is bent down to a position generally at right angles to the blade portion. This is done by feeding the piece longitudinally, i. e., in a path parallel to the rib I3, between plain grooved rolls defining a pass of the proper shape. This pass may easily be laid out in accordance with known principles. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the blank, indicated at 25, which results from rolling the starting piece as just described. It will be apparent that the thickness of the blade portion 24 has been made uniform throughout. This involves a slight displacement of the metal in the area of greatest thickness, and a consequent elongation of that part of the blade portion. As previously explained, this introduces a slight curvature into the longer diagonal edge 2B of the blade portion. The bending down of the landside portion 23 leaves it connected to the blade portion 24 by an edge 26' of generally triangular section (i. e., the rib I3) and the edge and the landside portion 23 are bowed inwardly intermediate their ends. As indicated by comparison of Figure 4 with Figures 6 and 7, the landside and blade portions 23 and 24 are each bent away from the top of the rib I3 in an arc of not more than about 45 to bring them into right-angle relation, the bend being along the initially bowed juncture of the respective portions 23 and 24 with the rib I3. The blank 25 is now in condition for final forging after the landside portion 23 is cut along the line 21 (Figure 3) to give it the desired taper in the forward direction, and any other incidental trimmingl which may be necessary to smooth the edges.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate the blank 25 when finally ready for forging. Before starting the forging operation, a piece of plate 28 of suitable size and shape is butt welded to the blade portion 24. When the weld has been completed and dressed, the blank is forged between suitable dies to bring it to the desired iinal shape. As previously indicated, the blank readily conforms tothe dies and the share is formed without internal stresses or undue movement of metal.v Care is taken during the forging operation to leave the lip I 5 undisturbed. When the forging is iinished, this lip furnishes a slight excess of metal which, when ground off, leaves a sharp cutting edge 29 at the intersection of the finished landside 3B and blade 3|. The leading lower edge of `the blade is also ground to the desired contour as shown in Figure 10.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the invention provides a plowshare forging blank and method of making it having numerous advantages. In the rst place, the bar I 0 from which the starting pieces are cut may easily be rolled by standard practice. In the second place, the increased length of the blade portion of the blank resulting from the reduction of the originally thicker part thereof prevents the development of internal stresses. The lip I5 of excess metal permits the share to be finished with a very sharp edge by a minimum amount of grinding. Since the only welding operation necessary to complete the share is a simple buttweld, the forging blank may be made of high-carbon steel aswell as low-carbon steel, and the Anecessity for subsequent recarburizing thus avoided. The invention permits a substantial lreduction in the cost of the forging blank as compared to blanks having integral landside and blade portions as made heretofore. An even greater advantage in cost, number of operations and quality of product is achieved in contrast to the timehonored method of welding a landside forging to a complete blade. Y l

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment of my improved blank, it will be understood that changes in the details of the blank may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A plowshare forging blank adapted to be cut from a rolled bar comprising an elongated rib of generally triangular cross section integrally connecting a relatively thick flange for a plow land-side and a relatively thin llange for at least a portion of a plow blade, said anges having their respective major portions extending generally in a common plane and each having a bowed portion extending along and merging into the rib, the rib having one of its triangular corners projecting above the anges and its other two triangular corners where the respective bowed portions of the flanges merge into the rib, whereby the flanges are adapted to be brought into rightangle relationship with minimum strain and weakening of the blank and with substantially no weakening of the outer plow edge by bending the iianges along their bowed portions each through an angle o1 about 45 degrees away from the projecting triangular corner of the-rib.

2. A plowshare forging blank adapted to be cut from a rolled bar comprising an elongated rib of generally triangular cross section integrally connecting a relatively thick flange for a plow landside and a relatively thin ange for at least a portion of a plow blade, said ilanges having their respective major portions extending generally in a common plane and each having a bowed portion extending along and merging in-to the rib, the rib having one of its triangular corners projecting above the anges and its other two triangular corners where the respective bowed portions of the flanges merge into the rib, with a curved groove along the bottom of the rib forming a smooth reverse curve with each of the lower surfaces of the bowed portions of the flanges, whereby the flanges are adapted to be brought into right-angle relationship with minimum strain and weakening of the blank and with substantially no weakening of the outer plow edge by bending the flanges along their bowed portions each through an angle of about 45 degrees away from the projecting triangular corner of the rib.

3. A plowshare forging blank adapted to be out from a rolled bar comprising an elongated rib of generally triangular cross section integrally connecting a relatively thick liange for a plow landside and a relatively thin flange for at least a portion of a plow blade, said flanges having their respective major portions extending generally in a common plane and each having a bowed portion of undiminished thickness .extending along and merging into the rib, the rib having one of its triangular corners projecting equidistant above the top surfaces of the respective -major portions of the flanges and having its other two triangular corners where the respective bowed 'portions of the flanges merge into the rib, whereby the flanges are adapted to be brought into right-angle relationship with minimum strain and weakening of the blank and with substantially no weakening of the outer plow edge by bending the flanges along their bowed portions each through an angle of about 45 degrees away from the projecting triangular corner of the rib.

4. A plowshare forging blank comprising an elongated rib of generally triangular cross section, a relatively thick ilange for the plow landside extending from one side of the rib and being boiuided by the rib, by a pair of edges extending from the ends of the rib normal to the length of the rib, and by an edge spaced from the rib and connecting the said pair of edges, and a relatively thin flange for the ba-se of the plow blade extending from the other side of the rib and being bounded by the rib, by a pair of relatively short edges extending from the ends of the rib norm-al to the length of the rib, by a pair of parallel edges of unequal length extending at an acute angle to the length of the rib from the outer ends of the last-mentioned pair of normally extending edges, and by an edge extending substantially normal to the unequal edges and connecting their outer ends, an identical series of said blanks being arrangeable in an unbroken pattern of two staggered rows of the blanks with their thinv flanges interlocking between the rows, whereby a plurality of the blanks can be cut from a rolled bar with minimum cutting and loss of material.

5. A plowshare blank comprising an elongated rib of generally triangular cross section with a channel of semi-circular cross section along the underside of the rib, a relatively thick flange for the plow landside extending from one side of the rib and being bounded by the rib, by a pair of edges extending from the ends of the rib normal to the length of the rib, and by an edge spaced from the rib and connecting the said pair of edges, and a relatively thin flange for the base of the plow blade extending from the other side of the rib and being bounded by the rib, by a pair of relatively short edges extending from the ends of the rib normal to the length of the rib, by a pair of parallel edges of unequal length extending at an acute angle to the length of the rib from the outer ends of the last-mentioned vpair of normally extending edges, and by an edge extending substantially normal to the unequal edges and connecting their outer ends, said ilanges being bowed adjacent the rib to merge smoothly with the rib and channel, an identical series of said blanks being arrangeable in an unbroken pattern of two staggered rows of the blanks with their thin flanges interlocking between the rows, whereby a plurality of the blanks can be cut from a rolled bar with minimum cutting and loss of material.

NORMAN C. RENDLEMAN,

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 460,899 Thomson Oct. 6, 1891 1,053,057 Mueller Feb. 1l, 1913 2,016,089 Hasson Oct. 1, 1935 2,306,996 Altgelt Dec. 29, 1942 

